Til Next We Meet
by BritNP
Summary: A four year old Kurt meets a five year old Jeff at rodeo practice and they spend the day together.


**A/N: This is obviously AU. **

**I do not own Glee or any of it's characters.**

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Kurt sat in the grass, plucking as he sucked on a yellow, lemon-flavored Starburst. He gently plucked a young dandelion, examining it closely. The four year old had a fascination with flowers, especially the yellow ones. His favorites were the sunflowers that his mother grew along the back porch. They were tall now, much taller than he.

"You're such a _girl_." Kurt looked up to see an older boy smirking down at him. He frowned, his little eyebrows furrowing together.

"I am not!" Kurt cried.

"You are too! Look at your outfit. It's so _girly_." The older boy snickered as he crossed his arms. Kurt only glared up at him as he continued to suck on his candy. He continued to glare as the boy kept making fun of him, pointing out every _girly_ aspect of Kurt's outfit.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt saw a flash of orange. He turned his head to see a taller blond boy trip and fall. Kurt immediately jumped up and ran to the boy, tossing the dandelion behind him as he ran. He knelt down beside the boy.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked the boy, who only looked up at him in surprise. Kurt looked over the boy and saw that he had scraped his knee. Kurt offered the boy a candy and then proceeded to help him up. Kurt grabbed the boy's hand and said, "Come on. My mommy has band-aids."

The boy still said nothing as Kurt dragged him to his mother, who was sitting on a set of bleachers, watching the riders. Kurt quickly explained to his mother what happened. She frowned and examined the boy's knee.

"It's just a little scrape." Her radiant smile dissolved Kurt's worries and he found himself smiling too. She dug through her bag, finding the neosporin and band-aids that she needed. As she patched the boy up, she said, "My name's Elizabeth, and this is Kurt. What's your name?"

"Jeff." Kurt cocked his head and looked up at he blond. He was used to seeing other kids around while their fathers were riding, but he didn't recall ever seeing Jeff before.

"And how old are you, Jeff?" Elizabeth asked.

"Five," Jeff told her, holding up his hand and showing her five fingers.

"I'm four!" Kurt squealed as he jumped up. "You're only one year older than me!"

Elizabeth's nose scrunched up as she let out a soft giggle, petting Kurt's hair. Jeff smiled uncertainly. Was this the same little boy he had just seen glaring up at a bully? If this little boy – Kurt, wasn't it? - could be so mean, then why was he being so nice to him?

"Hey mommy?" Kurt crawled up into his mother's lap.

"Yes, Kurt?" she asked, beaming down at him. He twirled one of her auburn curls around his index finger.

"Can I have a dollar?" he asked sweetly.

"For what?"

"Candy." Kurt grinned up at her.

"Don't you think you've had enough candy?" Elizabeth asked him softly.

"Not for me!" Kurt answered quickly. "For Jeff."

Elizabeth looked up at Jeff and said, "Well, I suppose, if his mother says it's okay."

"She wouldn't mind," Jeff answered. Kurt slid off of his mother's lap and stood next to Jeff as she pulled a dollar from her purse. She handed it to Kurt, who squealed in delight. He kissed his mother's cheek, and then grabbed Jeff's hand as he raced off to the concessions.

"That was a good trick. Do you think she believed you?" Jeff asked, once they were standing in line.

"Huh?" Kurt asked, turning to look up at Jeff.

"To get money for candy. Do you think she believed you were really gonna get candy for me?" Jeff asked Kurt.

"Mommy always believes me, 'cause I never lie to her. This is for you, not me." Kurt held out the dollar to Jeff. Jeff looked at Kurt in surprise. Kurt waved the dollar at Jeff, and Jeff took it from him.

"I thought you were just lying to get money. Do you wanna split it?" Jeff asked.

"Nah. It's yours! Get what you want." Kurt's nose scrunched up as he giggled. Jeff grinned as they moved forward in line. The lady working the concessions smiled down at them as she asked what they wanted. She handed Jeff the change and the pack of Starbursts, and the boys ran back to Elizabeth. Jeff tried to give her the change, but she shook her head and told him to keep it.

"Can we have some juice, Mommy?" Kurt asked as he sat down on the bleachers.

"Sure thing, honey. Apple or fruit punch?" she asked the boys.

"Apple!" Both the boys yelled and then grinned at each other. She got into the cooler and pulled out two juice boxes, handing one to Jeff and the other to Kurt. Jeff opened up the Starbursts and spilled all of the little candies onto the bleachers.

"Here, Kurt. You take the yellow ones." Jeff told him, pushing the yellow candies to Kurt.

"Really?" Kurt asked, wide-eyed.

"Sure."

"Thank you!" Kurt giggled as he grabbed one and opened it up, popping it into his mouth. He smiled as he happily sucked on the candy.

"You're welcome." Jeff said, eating a pink one.

"Kurt!" Kurt and Jeff both turned to see a small blond girl running towards them with her arms open wide. Kurt immediately jumped up and ran to her. She threw her arms around him and the two of them giggled and whispered for a moment before coming over to Jeff and Elizabeth.

"Hi Anna. Where's mommy?" Elizabeth asked the blond as she hugged her.

"Her and Grandma are coming. I ran!" Anna beamed at Kurt. She nudged him as she pointed to Jeff and asked, "Who's he?"

"This is Jeff," Kurt told her as he sat down next to Jeff.

"I'm Anna," she said, standing in front of Jeff with her hands on her hips. Jeff's eyes widened. Anna seemed kind of scary. He looked at Kurt.

"Is she your girlfriend?" he asked. Kurt and Anna both looked at Jeff in horror and then looked at each other, clearly disgusted.

"No! Yuck!" Anna said.

"Ew. No. Anna's my cousin." Jeff looked back and forth between Anna and Kurt. Anna had long blond hair, while Kurt's was brown. Kurt's eyes were blue, while Anna's were brown. But they did seem to have the same nose. And the way that she had looked at him just a moment ago reminded him a bit of the way that Kurt had glared at that bully.

"Yep, just cousins!" Anna said brightly and sat down on the other side of Jeff. A woman who looked a lot like Elizabeth and an older woman approached the small group and started a conversation with Elizabeth. Jeff could only assume that this was Anna's mother and their grandma.

"Oh, Kurt. I knew you'd forget a hat." Anna's mother pulled a hat out of her bag and put it over Kurt's head. Kurt only giggled and adjusted it slightly.

"Aunt Jennie thinks I need to wear a hat when I play outside," Kurt whispered to Jeff.

"Why?" Jeff asked him. Kurt only shrugged and turned to watch the riders. Jeff and Anna chatted for a little while. She was four, like Kurt. Her birthday was in July, so Kurt was just a little bit older than her.

"Are you gonna be a rider?" Kurt asked, turning to Jeff.

"Yeah. Are you?" Jeff asked.

"Yep. Me and Anna. I can't wait! I'm gonna ride so fast that nobody'll be able to catch me ever!" Kurt grinned, pounding his fists on the bleachers.

"I'll catch you, 'cause my horse will be a lot faster than yours!" Anna giggled.

"Nuh uh! No horse is faster than my Sugar!" Kurt said proudly.

"She's just a baby, just like you," Anna teased.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Kids, settle down." Jennie said quickly before turning back to Elizabeth. The three kids all grinned and giggled at each other. Anna suggested that they go play on the swings. Kurt squealed in agreement, and so the three took off. Kurt shouted to his mother as they ran, and she just smiled and yelled for them to be careful. They raced to the swings, Jeff beating them all and taking the middle one. Anna took the swing to his left, and Kurt took the swing to his right.

"I love swings." Jeff grinned as he pushed himself off.

"Me too." Kurt grinned as he lay on his stomach on the swing. He hung his arms over and dragged them through the sand.

"Hey. What are you doing? That's not how you swing." Jeff said, looking confused.

"I know. But I have to wait 'til Anna's done. 'Cause I don't know how to push myself."

"You don't?" Jeff asked in surprise. Kurt shook his head and traced a K in the sand.

"I can push you." Jeff told Kurt as he hopped off he swing.

"Really?" Kurt asked as he slid off the swing onto his knees and looked up at Jeff.

"Yeah. Get on." Kurt climbed up onto the swing and took hold of he chains. Jeff placed his hands over Kurt's and asked, "Ready?"

Kurt nodded and Jeff gently pulled the swing back, releasing it. Kurt squealed as he swung forward and then giggled as he came back. Jeff gave him a gentle push and Kurt swung forward again, screaming, "Wheeee!"

Jeff pushed Kurt on the swings for a while, and then he let Kurt push him, even though he knew how to swing by himself. After they were done swinging, they took a quick turn down the slides and then ran to the monkey bars. They raced each other across and then held a contest to see who could hold on longer. Anna came over and teased them about being monkeys, before tickling Kurt and making him fall. He gave her a light shove.

"Hey! Don't you know that boys aren't supposed to hit girls? Oh wait. Hummel_is_ a girl." Jeff let go of the bars and the three of them looked up on the play set to see the older boy that had been bullying Kurt earlier.

"Buzz off, _Danielle_." Anna quipped, hands on her hips.

"What did you call me?" The bully glared down at her.

"She said buzz off." Kurt glared.

"Did you call me a _girl_ name?" The bully asked Anna, ignoring Kurt.

"I did. If you mess with Kurt, you're messing with _me_, too."

"Come on, just leave us alone." Jeff said to the older boy. Kurt and Anna glared at the bully who only glared back. Finally, he rolled his eyes and gave a little huff.

"Whatever. I don't wanna mess with you _babies._" He turned and slid down a nearby slide and then walked off the playground. Anna balled her fists and started after him.

"No!" Kurt grabbed Anna.

"He was _mean_, Kurt." Anna said.

"So what? He's just a big bully. Come on. Let's go watch the riders." Kurt grabbed Anna's hand and Jeff's and tugged them along back to the bleachers.

"He won't bother us over here." Jeff said once they sat down. Kurt shook his head and held a finger to his lips.

"Who won't?" Jennie asked. Kurt and Jeff just shrugged.

"Daniel. He was being mean to Kurt again."

"_Anna!_" Kurt jabbed her in the side.

"Kurt." He looked up at his mother. She knelt down in front of him and put her hand on his knees. "Is that true?"

Kurt shrugged and looked down at his mother's hands, playing with one of her rings. She lifted his chin so that she could see his eyes. He gazed into her eyes for a moment before jerking his head back and looking away, grinding his teeth.

"Kurt, honey, if he bothers you again, just come tell me, and I'll go talk to his mommy, okay?" Kurt nodded without looking at her. "Now apologize to Anna."

"I'm sorry, Anna." Kurt said quietly, looking at her.

"It's okay." Anna grabbed Kurt's hand and smiled. He smiled back. Elizabeth gave Kurt a kiss on the forehead and then stood up. She motioned for Jennie to follow her and then the two of them left. Anna looked at Kurt for a moment and then said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Just don't tell next time, okay? He gets mad and then bothers me more," Kurt said quietly.

"I'm sorry, too. I didn't know." Jeff said. Kurt turned to look at Jeff. He grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"It's not your fault." Kurt smiled.

"Hey Kurt?" Jeff asked.

"What?"

"Next time, I'll protect you, okay?"

"I don't need protection." Kurt told him, grinning over at Anna. The two of them giggled and then Kurt looked back at Jeff. "I'm strong."

"Then I'll just help." Jeff offered. Kurt considered him for a moment and then nodded. He hugged Jeff, squeezing him tight and then let him go, turning back to watch the horses. Jeff stared a Kurt for a moment. He shook his head and then looked back at the riders. Kurt squirmed in his seat as the bull-riding began.

"I'm gonna do that when I grow up." He said excitedly.

"But that's dangerous!" Jeff said in horror.

"So?" Kurt asked, grinning.

"You could get hurt." Kurt just shrugged.

The three watched in anticipation as several men were thrown from bulls. After the bull-riding was over, people started to leave. Elizabeth and Jennie came back over to pack up their things and get the kids to the cars.

"I guess I better go find my mom." Jeff said to Kurt.

"Will you be here again?" Kurt asked.

"I think. I hope. You're fun to play with." Jeff smiled.

"I hope you do, too. I like playing with you. You're the nicest person I ever met." Kurt grinned and hugged Jeff. Jeff smiled sheepishly as he hugged Kurt back.

"Bye Kurt!" Jeff waved as he headed off to find his mother.

"Goodbye Jeff!" Kurt waved back excitedly.

He could hardly contain his excitement as he rambled on about Jeff to his mother and father as they tucked him in to sleep that night. He wiggled in his bed, long after his parents had read him Cinderella's story and turned out the lights. He couldn't wait to see his new friend again. His last thought before he drifted off was that he would _always_ share his yellow Starbursts with Jeff.


End file.
